STYLISTICS AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
STYLISTICS Stylistic device - is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical
 Is a branch of general linguistics
 Is a science, a branch of linguistics, investigating principles and results of
selection and use of lexical, grammatical, phonetic and other language means
for the transfer of thoughts.
 Is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective.
 As a discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics
 Stylistics is the application of concepts from linguistics and allied disciplines in
the analysis and interpretation of samples of communication through language.
(Otanes.ms)
 The linguistic study of different styles. (Chapman, 1973)
 A linguistic approach to the study of literary text.
 Stylistics concentrates on expressive sound combinations, intonational and
rhythmic patterns.
 Stylistics also deals with words, but only those which are expressive in language
or in speech.
Other features: the use of dialogue, including regional and people’s dialect,
descriptive language, the use of grammar, such as the active or passive voice, the
distribution.
Linguistics - is the scientific study of language.Such study has, broadly speaking,
three aspects: language form, language meaning, and language in context.
 the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of
morphology, syntax, phonetics, and semantics. Specific branches of linguistics
include sociolinguistics, dialectology, psycholinguistics, computational
linguistics, historical-comparative linguistics, and applied linguistics.
Literary criticism - is the evaluation, analysis, description, or interpretation of
literary works.
Language- the method of human communication, either spoken Or written
consisting of the use of words in a structured and convention
Literature - writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of
permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry,
novels, history, biography, and essays.
3 Basic Principles in Stylistic Analysis (Rigorous, replicable, retrievable)
idiolect - The speech of any individual, which is characterized by particular elements
structural and/or semantic property of a language unit (neutral or expressive)
promoted to a generalized status thus becoming a generative model.
SDS display an application of 2 meanings:
Ordinary - (already established in language-as-a-system)
special — imposed on the unit by the author (or content), a meaning, which
appears in language-in-action
Linguistic stylistics- studies functional styles of a language and the elements of
language from the point of view of their ability to express and cause emotions.
Literary stylistics- studies expressive means and stylistic devices characteristic for a
definite work of art, man of letter, literary movement, trend or epoch, and factors
influencing the expressiveness of language.
STYLE
 The splitting of the literary language into separate systems called styles
 The individual manner of an author in making use of language
 "style is the man himself "(Buffon 18thc.)
 "Style is depth" Darbyshire
 "style is deviation" Enkvist
 "style is the result of an author's success in compelling language to
conform to his mode of experience (Middleton Murry)
 "Style is a contextually restricted linguistic variation" (Enkvist)
 Style is a selection of non-distinctive features of language(BIoomfieId)
 Style is simply synonymous with form or expression(Benedetto Croce)
 "structures, sequences and patterns which extend beyond the boundaries
of individual sentences - style (Archibald Hill)
Individual style -implies the peculiarities of a writer's individual manner of using
language means to achieve the effect he desires: components of individual style
composition of phrasal units’ rhythm and melody of utterances system of imagery
preference for definite stylistic devices and their correlation with neutral language
media interdependence of the language means employed by the author and those
characteristic to his personages.
that reveals his breeding and education
Norm — is an invariant, which should embrace all variable phonemic,morphological,
lexical, and syntactic patterns with their typical properties circulating in the language
at a definite period of time. (language-as-a-system and language-in-action, language
and speech (discourse), lange and parole)
Expressiveness — in etymological sense is a kind of intensification of the utterance
(or a part of it).
Emotiveness - reveals emotions of the writer or a speaker by not directly
manifesting their emotions but by echoing real feelings, designed to awaken co-
experience on the part of the reader
Emotional synonyms
BIG — enormous, huge, large, gigantic, great, immense, monstrous, macroscopic,
tremendous
SMALL — little, tiny, miniature, miniscule, undersized, diminutive, lilliputian, midget,
petite
BEAUTIFUL - fair, fine, good-looking, splendid, gorgeous, lovely, picturesque, pretty,
stunning
UGLY - evil-looking, grotesque, monstrous, hideous, repulsive, unsightly
INTERESTING - absorbing, engrossing, fascinating, gripping, riveting, amusing,
intriguing
BORING - deadening, dull, irksome, slow, tedious, tiresome, wearisome,
uninteresting
Expressive means - are those phonetic, morphological, word building, lexical,
phraseological, syntactical forms, which exist in language-as-a-system for the
purpose of logical or emotional intensification of the utterance.
Phonetic EM - pitch, melody, stress, pausation, drawling out, whispering and sing-
song manner
Morphological EM - number, Historical Present, "shall" in the 2 or 3 person,
demonstrative pronouns, verbal
Lexical EM - different affixes: e.g. diminutive suffixes — dearie, sonny, auntie,
streamlet. At the lexical level expressiveness can also be rendered by the words
possessing inner expressive charge - interjections, epithets, slang and vulgar, poetic
or archaic words, set phrases, idioms, catchwords, proverbs and sayings
 LINGUISTIC CONTEXT VS EXTRALINGUAL CONTEXT LEVELS OF STYLISTICS ANALYSIS  Metonymy – the figurative expression is not a physical part of the subject
Ex: the white house declared The land belongs to the crown.
1. PHONOLOGICAL LEVEL White house = US government/ US President
Linguistic Context
 Stress – refers to words, parts of words that receives the most emphasis
 is the encirclement of a language unity by other language units in speech
 such encirclement makes the meaning of the unit clear and unambiguous Phonology- is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages. Ex: the girl gave the money to his father. The girl gave the money to his father.
 it is especially important in case with polysemantic words It also describes formal rules of pronunciation.  Rhythm- a continuous, recurrent, or organized movement
Ex: a shiny shower wont last an hours
examples: run, bat, crane, match, bright, table, yellow, rose, play, head, ring, bowl Features:  Intonation- how the music of a language rises and falls over a speech.
 End rhyme  Pause- is a break in speaking
Types of Linguistic Context  Alliteration  Tempo - is the relative speed or slowness of utterance which is measured by
 Assonance the rate of syllable succession/movement, the number, and duration of
1. Microcontext - is the context of a single utterance (sentence).
 Onomatopoeic words pauses in a sentence.
2. Macrocontext - is the context of a paragraph in a text.  Tone of the author  Rhetorical question – question without a direct answer
 Onomatopoeia – pronunciation of the word imitates a sound
3. Megacontext - is the context of a book chapter, a story or the whole book. Ex: the lion roared. 2. GRAPHOLOGICAL LEVEL
 Sound symbolism - sounds felt to be in some way appropriate to the meanings
expressed. Graphology - is the study of hand writing.
Extralingual (situational) Context
Ex: crash smash
 is formed by extralingual conditions in which communication takes place.
 It refers to the non-linguistic factors that influence the meaning & interpretation  Assimilation – change of one sound into another at word boundaries - writing system of writings and also the spelling rules.
of messages Ex: this shoes, this shop - refers the entire writing system: such as punctuation, paragraphing and spacing.
 Assonance- repeating a vowel sound throughout -it contracts with the systematic formation, structure and punctuation in the
2 Factors: Ex: feel feet swept by sleeping geeks sentence.
 Physical context – refers to the tangible and observable conditions in which  Alliteration- repetition of initial consonant sounds
communication takes place.
Ex: greet good of… Features:
 Abstract context – refers to the intangible and less observable factors that  Allusion- indirect reference to a person or event  Unusual capitalization
influence communication Ex: white house declared a war  Fonts (bold, italic, colorful)
 Anaphora- successive clauses or sentences start with the same word/s  Rhyme scheme
chronological context- refers to the time and sequence in which events occur. Ex: every child..every person  Contractions/ contracted forms
 Antithesis- contrasting relationship between two ideas  Punctuations
Psychological context - that refers to the emotional and cognitive state of the Ex: I am happy, I am unhappy  Spelling
participants in the communication.
 Hyperbole – deliberate exaggeration  Hyphens
 Elision – the omission of sounds as in o’er, heav’n
Ex: cam(e )ra 3. GRAMMATICAL LEVEL
 Hypophora – a question raised and answered by the author/speaker
 Metaphor – compared two different things in a figurative language Grammar- is the system of the language. A system of language rules that allows
 Simile – direct comparison with the like and as you to combine individual words to make complex meanings.
 Personification – attribution of human to animals, animate objects or
abstractions. 1 Morphological level
Ex: the water is cruel. 2. Syntactic level
 Parallelism – successive clauses or sentences are similarly structured
Ex: Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember.
 Understatement -weaken or soften a statement
Ex: I think we have slightly different opinion.
 Features: Features:
 Structural and lexical features Morpheme - he smallest unit of language that carries meaning
 Word classes or parts of speech Phonemes - are sounds which distinguish one word from another  Quotations
 Nouns to interjections Phonetics- studies sounds, articulation, rhythmics and intonation.
 Use of verbals Lexicology- describes words, their origin, development, semantic and structural  Inference- (speaker or writer refer someone through linguists form proper
 Coinages features. noun Pronoun article. Ex: Look at him
 Unfamiliar expressions  Anaphora-when we refer back to the situation, things, person, events.
 Connotations  Cataphora- refers to an expression or subject which is used afterward.
 Colloquial references  Repetition: a device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times
 Compounding to make an idea clearer.
 Parts of speech Meaning (Lexis, Semantics, Pragmatics, Intertextual features  Invisible meaning (some time meanings are invisible or deeper
Grammar (Syntax and morphology)
 Abbreviation Ex. identity search
Sounds/ writing (phonology)
 Compound words Shapes (graphology)  Deixis -these are some expressions that cannot be understood without the
 Dependent and independent clauses knowledge of context and physical context of speaker.
 Noun phrases
 Noun string Person deixis: These are used to point things and people. Examples of person deixis
 Simple tenses are : "Whose, her, his ,their ,him, this"
 Infinitive form Time deixis: They point to time. Examples: "whole time, till, then, soon"
 Auxiliary verb Spatial deixis: They are used to point location. Examples are where, there, here, etc
4. PRAGMATICS LEVEL
 Speech act - the action performed by produced utterances.
Lexical - are total amount of vocabulary items and use of words in a piece of text. Pragmatics- studies the use of language in context, and the context-dependence of
Lexical level: it includes the study of individual words and idioms in different various aspects of linguistic interpretation. Locutionary speech act- an utterance that produces literal meaning
linguistics contexts. It involves the study of semantics, word formation, and Illocutionary speech act- an utterance which has social function in mind
morphology. - is the study of invisible meaning in a piece of text spoken or written. It discusses Perlocutionary speech act - an utterance that gives an effect to do something
Semantics (sentence meaning) -is the study of, meanings in a language. Meanings how we recognize the invisible meanings in a text.
are judged through the analysis of context, social and individual point of views. - It is the context- based study including linguistic context, thematic context, pre-
Syntax – the arrangement of words in sentences, clauses, and phrases, and the existing knowledge and physical context of the text.
study of the formation of sentences
Morphology- the study of the forms of words - meaning in context
Lexis- word meaning
Syntax- means arrangement of words in a sentence. Lexicon –Syntax - is the combination of two words Lexis and Syntax. According to
Taller man (1998), Lexico-Syntactic choices are found through devices such as
collocates, specific part of speech, simile and metaphor.
 CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS
 focuses on the structure and organization of spoken interaction.
 the study of the talk produced in ordinary human interactions.
 is used to understand the meanings of real language and how people really
speak.
 Conversation analysis is more pragmatics
GENRE ANALYSIS
Genre - a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized
by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
 aims to understand the characteristics and conventions of different
genres.
 It involves examining various textual elements such as structure, language
use, and purpose to identify patterns and similarities within a specific
genre.
 One key aspect of genre analysis is understanding how genres are shaped
by their social context.
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Discourse- written or spoken communication
 “look beyond the sentence” in which it studies discourse and larger chunks
of language and analyze the language used in various contexts.
 examines language use in a range of contexts, including written texts,
speeches, and media.
 an analysis of any text, so it would include written texts, lectures.
 Discourse analysis looks at how we construct meaning throughout a text,
so it looks at a wider picture than the sentence, which differentiates it from
a lot of grammatical analysis, which tends to concentrate on smaller units
like phrases and sentences.
 discourse analysis is more semiotics.
 It is the study of text language and conversations.
 It also provides us chance to create a complex interpretation of a simple
discourse and simple interpretation of a complex language in order to
facilitate the readers.
Semiotics- he study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. COHESION
2 Types of Discourse Analysis  refers to the unity of structural elements
 relates to the micro level of the text (words & sentences) and how they join
PLANNED DISCOURSE together, how the different parts of a text are connected.
 It ensures that the text is easy to read and understand
 tends to be more structured and organized  It is achieved through the use of cohesive devices
 refers to communication that is carefully prepared in advance. It involves
organizing ideas, structuring arguments, and rehearsing delivery. Cohesive devices:
 is a discourse that has been thought out and organized (desiqned) prior to its repeated words/synonyms
expression. reference words / pronouns
 The planned discourse is talk that has not been thought out prior to its transition signals/ linking verbs
expression. substitution (do,have,be,one,so)
 Discourse is produced when sufficient time for thinking and organizational ellipsis
preparation prior to expression.
 Planned discourse allows for thorough preparation and structured arguments.
COHERENCE
Examples: speeches, presentations and formal debates
 it is about the unity of ideas that are concerned with the macro level features
UNPLANNED DISCOURSE (topic sentences, thesis statement, headings, etc.)
 refers to the logical flow of ideas in a text.
 It is about the unity of the ideas.
 it lacks preparation
 Coherence ensures that all ideas in a text are presented in a logical order
 it is spontaneous.
 It is used to ensure that the reader can easily follow the writer’s train of
thought by ensuring that ideas flow logically from one point to another
 promotes quick thinking skills speakers must spontaneously without prior
 Coherence is achieved through the use of organizational structures, clear topic
planning.
sentences, and logical connections.
 is a discourse that lacks forethought and organizational preparation.
 In unplanned discourse, the communicator has not organized how she/he is
going to express an idea or set of ideas or perform some speech act (Searle
1969) or event (Hymes 1972) prior to the time of communication.
APPROACH TO ANALYZE DISCOURSE
 Unplanned discourse is spontaneous communication that occurs in everyday
conversations or impromptu situations and quick- thinking skills.
 It lacks the preparation seen in planned discourse but offers a more natural
Pragmatics
exchange of ideas.
Sociolinguistic
 Unplanned discourse allows for immediate responses without much thought or
Ethnography of Communication
organization beforehand.
Conversational Analysis
Examples: casual conversations among friends or colleagues